Somebody Made A Huge Mistake With Jackson

You had to expect there would be fallout from the Aaron Hernandez shocker from 2013. Sure enough, there was. But who would’ve guessed that the team getting rid of someone would be the Eagles, and that the player affected would be DeSean Jackson.

Jackson’s a showboat and has some less-than-savory friends. But has no record in the league and he hasn’t been charged with any crime.

OK, some say. A genius at ESPN wrote a column with the headline “Addition by subtraction.” It’s a cliche, but sports writers and columnists couldn’t live without them.

You might say there’s more to the story. He was late to some team meetings. He must have irked Eagles coach Chip Kelly.

Maybe so, but I have to wonder about the whole move, especially when Washington swooped in and made a three-year deal with Jackson. I don’t know about you, but I have more questions than answers.

Who’s the genius and who’s the idiot? I mean, someone’s screwed up. They can’t both be right about the guy.

What exactly happened between Jackson and Kelly? You have to wonder about that. It reminds me a bit about Randy Moss and what happened to him with the Vikings.

Except this. As far as I know, Jackson never took plays off, as Moss did. He appeared to give it his all during games. His productivity was Moss-like. Unlike Moss, he never got in trouble with the law.

Again, there might be some information that Kelly was privy to that the rest of us aren’t. Maybe he has a source with some tales to tell about Jackson.

But it's hard to overlook the timing. Stories came out connecting the dots between Jackson and some gang members. At least according to police.

Wait. Hold on a minute. This all sounds like a case being decided by hearsay evidence. That’s not admissible in court.

And since when did the Los Angeles Police Department decide on the rosters for the National Football League? Unless Jackson’s been charged with a crime, the cops should have nothing to do with anything.

One of Jackson’s buddies in Los Angeles was charged with murder. He was acquitted.

Some say Jackson has made gang signs after scoring touchdowns, but I have to admit I’m not up on my gang signs.

Does this have anything to do with the Riley Cooper incident from last year? Cooper suffered a light punishment for yelling the n-word at a public place (and getting caught on tape). The Eagles were eager to see him back, and he returned after some time off.

Hold on again. Now I’m confused. So the Eagles are a forgiving team?

Cooper got a big deal with the Eagles. Was Jackson miffed about that? Did he never forgive the guy?

But I keep going back to the whole Hernandez situation. I don’t know what kind of red flags popped up before he was accused of murder, but the whole story was shocking. A player at the apex of success one day, cuffed and accused of murder the next.

That had to scare the bejeesus out of some owners and coaches. I have a feeling that’s what happened with Kelly. He didn’t want to be the next guy burned by a criminal.

Still, from where I’m sitting, Kelly overreacted. Jackson was good enough to play well all those games. The team should’ve known about a guy who’s been on their team several years. What suddenly happened?

One way or the other, we’ll find out who made the best choice. If Washington beats the Eagles twice, we’ll have to think Jackson was right.

In any event, I have a hard time accepting the whole notion of guilt by association. It seems, well, un-American.